Movable device for storing and turning cheese



July 8, 1958 'c. 0. cs. PERSSON 2,841,870

MOVABLE DEVICE FOR STORING AND TURNING CHEESE Filed Sept. 26, 1956 INVENTOR ATTORNEKS CuRr 0. G PERssow BY l/Mfl, WW Pom/ n n u wmwfi a "W 1. a J m ow fi a n1 United States PatentOfiice 2,841,870 Patented July 8, 1958 MOVABLE DEVICE FOR STORING AND TURNING CHEESE Curt Olle Georg Pcrsson, Halmstad, Sweden Application September 26, 1956, Serial No. 612,277

Claims priority, application Sweden September 26, 1955 4 Claims. (CI. 31-49) In my Patent No. 2,702,943 there is described a method and a device for storing and turning cheese in cheese curing plants, comprising shelf units each having a number of vertically aligned shelf members for receiving cheeses, said units being pivotally suspended about a horizontal axis passing longitudinally of the shelf members through the center of gravity of the respective shelf unit and movable towards and away from each other at right angles to vertical planes through the axes of the shelf units, the cheeses being stored on the shelf members while the shelf units are in parallel relation with the back of one unit facing the front of another unit, and the cheeses turned in that the shelf units are moved one at a time away from the remaining units and then inverted and again moved into close juxtaposition.

The present invention eliminates the disadvantages associated, in the type of cheese curing plants mentioned above, with the fixedly mounted rear walls of the shelf units and also the disadvantages which would arise if the rear walls could be removed from all shelf units after each inversion thereof.

The device according to the invention is characterized by the fact that for all or several of the shelf units which are open on both sides there is provided a rear wall the two sides of which are identical and which covers one of the shelf units at a time on one side thereof, said rear wall being transferable from one to the other of two movedtogether shelf units between which said rear wall is disposed, in that said rear wall is directly connected to the other of said shelf units simultaneously as it is disconnected from the first shelf unit.

Further objects of and the advantages gained by the invention will become apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing illustrating part of a cheese curing plant to which the invention. is applied.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of a rear wall for the shelf units of the cheese curing plant.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the rear wall.

Fig. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of two juxtaposed shelf units, with the rear wall disposed between them.

A cheese curing plant of the type to which the invention preferably is applied comprises a plurality of shelf units 1 having a number of vertically aligned shelf members 2 for receiving cheeses. .The shelf units 1 are pivotally suspended in suspension means, here shown as arms 4, so as to permit inversion of the units about a horizontal axis 3 passing longitudinally of the shelf members 2 through the center of gravity of the respective shelf unit. In addition, the shelf units can be moved together with the suspension means towards and away from one another in that said suspension means are carried with the intermediary of roller members by two parallel horizontal rails extending at right angles to vertical planes through the axes 3 of the shelf units. In the embodiment illustrated each roller member comprises a bracket 5 disposed at the upper end of the respective arm 4, and a roller 6 mounted in said bracket and so supported on one of the rails 7 hung closely under the ceiling of a storing room as to be capable of rolling along it.

The turning of the cheeses is performed by moving the momentarily outermost shelf unit 1 sufliciently far away from the remaining units to allow inversion thereof. The shelf units must therefore be provided with a rear wall against which the cheeses bear laterally during inversion in order not to slide off the shelf members.

According to the invention, a single removable rear Wall 8 is provided for all or in any case several shelf units in the plant, whereas the shelf units proper are open on both sides. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, said rear wall 8 may be a lattice work constituted by a number of vertical section bars disposed side by side and spaced equal distances apart, and by horizontal bars 11. The two outermost section bars 9 are preferably U-bars the channelsof which face inwards while the intermediate bars 10 are I-bars. The bars 11 pass through said bars 9 and 10 and are preferably tubular and arranged above each other at the same relative distance as the shelf members 2 in the shelf units 1. A board 12 is provided in each compartment between said vertical and horizontal bars and is of a height lower than the distance between the horizontal bars 11. It is movably guided with its lateral edges in the channels of the section bars 9 and 10. Flanges 13 are provided at the (upper and lower) ends of the rear wall 8.

In use, the rear wall 8 is connected to one of the shelf units with the aid of coupling means. Said means consist of coupling hooks 14 which are secured each to one end of two shafts passing through two of the tubular bars 11, and of fixed pins 15 arranged on the end walls of the shelf units 1 in such a position that the hooks 14 can engage them. Said hooks are double so that when the rear wall 8 is located between the moved-together shelf units 1 as shown in Fig. 3, they can be disconnected from the pins 15 of one shelf unit and connected to the pins of the other shelf unit merely by swinging the hooks about their shafts. The hooks being fixedly secured to the shafts, they can all be operated from the same side. Besides, by the momentarily upper flange 13 the rear wall 8 hangs on the two shelf units and is therefore always supported by them even if all hooks 14 are being adjusted at one and the same time.

The manner of turning the cheeses is as follows: The rear Wall is mounted on the momentarily outermost shelf unit 1 on that side thereof which faces awayfrom the remaining shelf units. Said shelf unit is then inverted as already mentioned and again moved into juxtaposition with the next shelf unit, with the rear Wall 8 facing said next shelf unit. While the rear wall 8 bears against two shelf units on their facing sides, the coupling hooks 14 are adjusted so that the rear wall is disconnected from the first and simultaneously connected to the second shelf unit. After the first shelf unit has been moved aside the second unit is subjected to the same sequence of operations and so on through the whole series of shelf units until all of them have been inverted and the cheeses therein turned.

During the inversion of the shelf units 1 the cheeses, as shown at 16, each bear against one of the boards 12. For practical reasons the distance between the shelf members 2 must be somewhat larger than the thickness of the cheeses and during the inversion of the shelf unit the cheeses will consequently fall from one to the other of the shelf members defining the respective shelf compartment. This can be done without the cheeses sliding against the rear wall 8 because the boards 12 are movable therein and follow the cheeses.

The advantage of the construction as described herein over the shelf units with permanent coverings on the backs thereof is that in the previous devices after the turning of the shelf unit, the cheeses will remain resting against the rear wall of the shelf unit so that a part of the periphery of the cheeses will be permanently flattened at the point at which they rest against the rear wall. Further, the fixed rear walls on the shelf units prevent a free circulation of the air through side by side units which unfavorably affect the storage and the ripening of the cheeses. It would of course be possible to make the rear walls removable so that they could be disengaged from the shelf units. However, the rear walls are not of a size which are conveniently handled by a single worker, and consequently the labor involved in removing the removable rear walls would be considerable.

As can be seen, the apparatus according to the present invention eliminates the fixed rear walls so that after the cheeses have been turned, they are not resting against a hat surface which tends to flatten them at the point of contact. Furthermore, the rear wall is transferred to the next shelf unit to be turned without the necessity of the worker having to lift or otherwise remove the rear wall. All that is necessary is to rotate the double hooks to transfer the rear wall from one shelf unit to the other.

The method according to the invention can be realized by means of other embodiments of the device than that described in the foregoing, and the invention must not therefore be considered as limited to said embodiment.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a cheese curing plant an arrangement for storing and turning cheeses comprising a plurality of shelf units each comprising a plurality of vertically aligned shelf members for receiving the cheeses, said shelf units being open at their front and back, means for mounting said shelf units in a row with the back of one unit facing the front of another unit, means for pivotally supporting each of said shelf units laterally thereof for rotation about a horizontal axis extending longitudinally of said shelf members through the center of gravity of the shelf unit, means form oving said shelf units towards and away from each other within said row, a rear wall member having a front and a rear side and being in said row between two of said shelf units and separate from each shelf unit, both sides of said rear wall member cooperably abutting the back of each of said units, and coupling means for releasably attaching said rear wall member to one of said shelf units, said coupling means being operable, when said rear wall member is tightly sandwiched between two juxtaposed shelf units, for transferring said rear wall member from one to the other of said units.

2. In a cheese curing plant an arrangement for storing and turning cheeses comprising a plurality of shelf units each comprising a plurality of vertically aligned shelf members for receiving the cheeses, said shelf units being open at their front and back, means for mounting said shelf units in a row with the back of one unit facing the front of another unit, means for pivotally supporting each of said shelf units laterally thereof for rotation about a horizontal axis extending longitudinally of said shelf members through the center of gravity of the shelf unit, means for moving said shelf units towards and away from each other within said row, a rear wall member having a front and a rear side and being in said row between two of said shelf units and separate from each shelf unit, both sides of which rear wall member cooperably abut the back of each of said units, hook coupling members pivotally mounted on said rear wall member on the vertical edges thereof, and fixed peg means mounted on the shelf units at the lateral sides thereof engageable by said coupling members for releasably coupling said rear wall member to one of said shelf units, said hook coupling members being operable, when said rear wall member is tightly sandwiched between two juxtaposed shelf units, for transferring said rear wall member from one to the other of said two units.

3. In a cheese curing plant an arrangement for storing and turning cheeses comprising a plurality of shelf units each comprising a plurality of vertically aligned shelf members for receiving the cheeses, said shelf units being open at their front and back, means for mounting said shelf units in a row with the back of one unit facing the front of another unit, means for pivotally supporting each of said shelf units laterally thereof for rotation about a horizontal axis extending longitudinally of said shelf members through the center of gravity of the shelf unit, means for moving said shelf units towards and away from each other within said row, a rear wall member having a front and a rear side and being in said row between two of said shelf units and separate from each shelf unit, both sides of which rear wall member cooperably abut the back of each of said units, at least one shaft rotatably mounted on said rear wall member parallel to said shelf members, double-hooked coupling members fixed on said shaft, and fixed peg means mounted on the shelf units at the lateral sides thereof engageable by said coupling members for releasably coupling said rear wall member to one of said shelf units and for transferring said rear wall member, when tightly sandwiched between two juxtaposed shelf units, from one to the other of said two units in one operation of said double-hooked coupling members.

4. In a cheese curing plant an arrangement for storing and turning cheeses comprising a plurality of shelf units each comprising a plurality of vertically aligned shelf members for receiving the cheeses, said shelf units being open at their front and back, means for mounting said shelf units in a row with the back of one unit facing the front of another unit, means for pivotally supporting each of said shelf units laterally thereof for rotation about a horizontal axis extending longitudinally of said shelf members through the center of gravity of the shelf unit, means'for moving said shelf units towards and away from each other within said row, a rear wall member having a front and a rear side and being in said row between two of said shelf units and separate from each shelf unit, both sides of which rear wall member cooperably abut the back of each of said units, at least one shaft rotatably mounted on said rear wall member parallel to said shelf members, double-hooked coupling members fixed on said shaft, and fixed peg means mounted on the shelf units at the lateral sides thereof engageable by said coupling members for releasably coupling said rear wall member to one of said shelf units and for transferring said rear wall member, when tightly sandwiched between two juxtaposed shelf units, from one to the other of said two units in one operation of said double-hooked coupling members, and a flange on the upper end of said rear wall member extending over the upper ends of said shelf units when said rear wall member is between adjacent shelf units.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 37,140 Ainger et al Dec. 9, 1862 215,407 Stettler May 13, 1879 2,702,943 Persson Mar. 1, 1955 

